Attempted Carjacking, Vehicular Assault Oct. 15 Incident Details Released — Mercer Island Police Blotter

Mercer Island Police released additional details about two Oct. 15 incidents of vehicular assault and an attempted carjacking believed to be involving the same suspects and the same car stolen earlier that day in Seattle.

A vehicular assault was first reported by a 57-year-old man who was heading in the direction of his First Hill home on the 3200 block of 74th Ave. SE when his Audi S5 was rear-ended on 72nd Ave. SE at the intersection with SE 32nd Street at 6:15 p.m.

The man pulled over and a gold-colored Ininiti QX4 SUV followed. The report stated that the man did not exchange information with the men in the Infiniti SUV as the damage was minimal, but they began following the Audi once the man resumed driving. When the man pulled over on the 3100 block of 74th Ave. SE, the SUV side-swiped his car and turned west on SE 32nd Street. The man then followed the SUV around the corner when the Infiniti stopped and reversed into the Audi twice before driving away.

The man was unable to avoid being struck, but was able to later gave police a good description of the two men inside the SUV. The Audi suffered damage to the front bumper, grill, driver's side wheel well and tire and headlight. The SUV was later determined as stolen by police.

About an hour later, the same vehicle pulled along side a BMW 540 on the 5000 block of 84th Ave. SE near the 57-year-old BMW-owner's home and pointed a gun at him at 7:20 p.m. The two men tried to take the car but were unable to operate a manual transmission vehicle — they didn't know how to drive a stick-shift. So they took the victim's checkbook, laptop computer and bag, holding various items.

The suspects are described as follows:

• Driver: Darker skinned African-American, approximately 6'0" and 190 lbs., thick build, wearing a red jersey type shirt and possibly a red baseball cap.
• Passenger: Lighter skinned African-American, 5'8" and 160 lbs. and had a Jeri curl/afro-type hair style.

For further information, contact the Mercer Island Police at 206-275-7610. For anonymous tips, call 206-275-7955.

Oct. 9

Crash at Island Square Apartments Parking Garage
A Lexus ES4D driven by a 72-year-old resident was exiting the Island Square Apartments parking garage at 11:50 a.m. and turned into the driveway that leads out to SE 27th Street at the same time as a Ford van was in the driveway from the maintenance area where the building’s dumpsters are kept. Both drivers failed to see the other until just before they collided. No injuries or citations were reported in the accident.

Teen Runs Away From Home Last Week
The mother of a 17-year-old teenage boy reported her son had runaway from his home on the 9000 block of SE 79th Street and had been last seen on Oct. 1. She said he had no medical problems and did not believe that he was in imminent danger.

Attempted Burglary at Mercer Vista Home
The resident of a home on the 6200 block of 82nd Avenue SE reported an unknown suspect had attempted to burglarize her home between noon and 4:20 p.m. Police found scratch marks on the front door frame made possibly by a screwdriver, but the would-be burglar was unable to break in to the home.

Woman Cited For Driving Over Grass, Curb at 76th Ave.
Police issued the 48-year-old driver of a silver Scion a ticket for reckless driving after she drove through a parking lot and over grass and a sidewalk while trying to enter the 2700 block of 76th Ave. SE.

Oct. 10

Confronted by Suspicious Chase Bank Teller, Fraud Suspect Flees
A woman using the name “Jordana Blum” attempted to cash a fraudulent check at the Chase Bank drive-thru on SE 28th St. at 4:30 p.m. The teller became suspicious of the check and asked the woman to come in to complete the transaction, but the suspect said she was in a hurry to “had to pick up her kids” and drove away, leaving behind the check, later determined to be stolen from a Kirkland man, and a Washington state driver’s license.

Oct. 11

Negligent Driver Crashes Into East Mercer Tree
A 20-year-old Shorewood Heights resident was driving a Ford Focus on northbound East Mercer Way when he failed to judge a curve, slid off the road and struck a tree at 1 p.m. The driver, who was uninjured in the crash, said he was unfamiliar with the area and was driving at around 30 mph before the accident, and was cited for negligent driving.

Oct. 12

Woman Complains of Cyberstalking, Fake Facebook Page
A 41-year old resident of a home on the 2900 block of 76th Ave. SE reported she was the victim of cyberstalking by her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, a 33-year-old Maple Valley woman. She reported the ex-girlfriend was sending harassing emails and impersonating her on Facebook.

Purple Girls Bike Found on ICW
Police found an abandoned bicycle leaning against a tree on the 2700 block of Island Crest Way at 1:52 a.m. The bicycle, a girls purple/white Magma “Rebound” 21-speed, was held for safekeeping at the MIPD station.

Oct. 13

Suicidal Condo Dweller Disarmed, Committed to Hospital
A suicidal man reportedly threatened to kill himself with a gun in his 7700 Central apartment on Sunset Highway at 12:20 p.m. The man was arrested later involuntarily committed at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Mercer Island Police seized a Sig-Sauer 9MM pistol and ammunition for safekeeping.

Valuable Bike Stolen From Home Near ICW
A resident reported the theft of her bicycle from an open-air carport of a home the 8200 block of SE 41st Street sometime between noon - 3 p.m.  The bicycle, a silver “Marin” brand hybrid mountain bike, was valued at $800.

South-end Resident Finds Coin Bag in Vacant Lot
A resident of a home on the 8400 block of West Mercer Way found a small  “Sephora” drawstring bag on the ground filled with valuables at 12:16 p.m. in a vacant lot next to his house, and later turned it over to police. The bag contained jewelry, medallions and foreign coinage.

Oct. 14

Teens Busted Smoking Pot in IMS Parking Lot
Police arrested a 17-year-old resident on drug charges after he was found in possession of marijuana and a smoking pipe with three other teens in his car at Islander Middle School. An MIPD patrol spotted the silver Suzuki he was driving pull into the school parking lot at around 1 a.m. and stop behind a storage container.  Officers contacted the teens and noticed the “strong odor” of marijuana, and a search revealed the illegal drugs and pipe. The teen was processed and released to his parents at the MIPD station.

Oct. 15

Local Teens Detained for Marijuana Possession
Three teens were detained for drug possession after the black Audi A4 they were traveling in was stopped for speeding on the 7900 block of East Mercer Way at 4:55 p.m. A patrol officer located a half-a-gram of marijuana after smelling the odor upon contacting the youths and a brief search of the car.

Oct. 16

Social Security Check Attempted Fraud Using Debit Card
The 67-year-old resident of a home on the 7200 block of Holly Hill Drive received an unsolicited debit card in his name in the mail. Used for the direct deposit of Social Security checks, the “Netspend” card was purchased on Sept. 20 but did not affect the man’s Social Security checks that month. The card was cancelled and MIPD reported the incident to Federal authorities.

Oct. 17

Suspicious Vehicle Stopped, Marijuana Found in Mercerdale
A 33-year-old Kenmore man was cited for marijuana possession after the vehicle he was riding in was stopped on the 7700 block of 77th Ave. SE at 9:10 a.m., based on reports of suspicious activity. Police noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle and the man surrendered the drugs upon request. He was cited and released.

Police Impound Infiniti Car
Police ordered an abandoned Infiniti G20 towed from the 8000 block of North Mercer Way for obstructing the lane of travel at 8:34 a.m. The car was impounded by Starbuck’s Towing.

Heroin Cooking Pot, Syringes Found Behind Town Center Business
A business owner on the 7800 block of SE 30th Street discovered a plastic bag of used syringes and a rubber glove under a dumpster for his business  after he saw someone run past it at 1 p.m. Police found another bag nearby that contained heroin “cook pot” and heroin residue inside.